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Chicago Tribune
March 23, 2008 Contract fight may delay replacement of refueling relics
By Aamer Madhani, Tribune correspondent
WICHITA, Kan. — At the main entrance to McConnell Air Force Base, a stately KC-135 aerial refueling tanker manufactured more than 50 years ago sits on display as a museum piece, a tribute to the aircraft that was built to be a pillar of military strategy in the early years of the Cold War.
But inside the base, the old tanker is hardly a relic. Hundreds of personnel toil every day to keep 39 of the Air Force's 530 Eisenhower-era tankers airborne, a feat of tenacity and ingenuity that baffles even the men and women who have managed to keep the planes airworthy three decades after commercial airlines retired such planes.
"The KC-135 is like that first girlfriend or your first car," said Senior Master Sgt. Buddy Gerhardt, a fuel systems repair technician from Berwyn, Ill., who at 33 is at least a decade younger than the tankers he works on. "You might always have a special feeling for that first girlfriend or that first car, but eventually you have to move on."
The Air Force announced last month it had awarded a $35 billion contract to a partnership of Northrop Grumman and the corporate parent of the European-led planemaker Airbus to begin replacing the tanker fleet, whose aircraft now have an average age of 47.
But the long-languishing plan to revamp the fleet will likely be further delayed as the competing bidder and manufacturer of the original fleet, Chicago-based Boeing, filed a complaint this month with the Government Accountability Office.
Defense analysts say Boeing's appeal could set back the manufacture of the new tankers by years. At the same time, members of Congress from Kansas and Washington state—where Boeing has manufacturing plants—are considering introducing legislation that would undo the deal.
Commanders at McConnell declined to comment on the politicking, saying only that they hope to have new tankers at their disposal as soon as possible. Air Force officials say they are confident they can keep up the maintenance of the aircraft for many more years, yet there is a recognition among senior officials and squadron leaders that time is not on the side of the aging aircraft.
"We're a catastrophe away from having the tankers grounded," said Col. James Vechery, commander of the 22nd Air Refueling Wing at McConnell.
A contract to lease new tankers was originally awarded to Boeing but was annulled in 2004 after an ethics scandal led to jail time for two Boeing officials. One of the jailed officials had worked as a procurement officer for the Air Force and was specifically involved with the annulled deal before joining Boeing.
But since Boeing formally lost out on the re-bid process three weeks ago, numerous members of Congress have bemoaned the Air Force's decision to award one of the most lucrative military contracts ever to a partnership that includes a European company at a time when the U.S. economy seems headed toward a recession.
Plugging away
While the aerospace companies and Congress maneuver in Washington, at McConnell and other Air Force bases, the personnel charged with maintaining the aging aircraft continue to plug away at keeping the tankers running.
By all accounts, the current tanker fleet, manufactured by Boeing, has been as reliable as any aircraft the Air Force has ever flown. Air Force officials note that only 12 to 18 of the new tankers, known as the KC-45, are expected to be manufactured each year as part of the contract that calls for 179 new tankers. So even in the best-case scenario, some of the KC-135 tankers would remain flying for 30 more years.
Senior officers said the tankers have been trustworthy in large part because of an aggressive maintenance and inspection regime. For every hour a tanker is in the air, Air Force teams spend 10 hours on maintenance.
"If there is any question about safety, we don't fly the tanker," said Col. Raymond LaMarche Jr., commander of the 22nd Operations Group.
But the fleet is more frequently showing signs of age.
Tech. Sgt. Henry Burns, whose unit is charged with inspecting the fleet, said corrosion is increasingly a problem with the KC-135s. On one tanker, he said, the corrosion was so severe that rows of rivet heads simply "popped" off the plane's exterior.
Master Sgt. Gari Anderson, one of the fuel systems specialists known as "Tank Rats," said some of the decades-old fuel bladders have as many as 15 patches covering punctures accumulated over the years.
1982 crash killed 27
Less frequently, the aircraft have experienced more serious damage.
One of the worst accidents involving the KC-135 occurred in March 1982, when 27 Air Force personnel were killed after a tanker fell apart as it made its descent into O'Hare International Airport. Investigators at the time said an explosion in the fuel tank caused the crash.
In March 2006, a tanker headed to Europe en route to the Middle East to support operations in Iraq had to be diverted after a small panel in the nose wheel well collapsed during flight, causing rapid decompression in the tanker's cabin. In a matter of seconds, the 29 passengers and crew experienced a cabin altitude change from 8,000 to 27,000 feet.
Fortunately, the crew had all the passengers, who were Air Force personnel, don oxygen equipment immediately, said Capt. Matthew Manns, the assistant operations officer for the aircraft maintenance squadron at McConnell. The tanker, which was built in 1962, was repaired and remains part of the fleet.
Manns said the near-catastrophe was the result of metal failure, a problem that comes with the age of the aircraft.
"We're aggressive with our nose-to-tail inspections, but this is something that couldn't have been seen," Manns said.
For the pilots, the tanker mission is one of the most satisfying jobs in the service, said 1st Lt. Nick Motlagh. The plane, which many airmen appreciatively refer to as the U.S. military's gas station in the sky, is in many ways a throwback that tests the air crews' piloting skills, and figuring out how to land and take off in an aircraft carrying 200,000 pounds of fuel can be a challenge on some of the military's shorter runways.
The refueling mission is an essential one that has been critical to some of the highest-profile episodes of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Tankers from the 22nd Air Wing have supported missions that have led to more than 841 enemy fighters killed in action, have aided two hostage rescues and have assisted in evacuating dozens of wounded troops.
"It's pretty remarkable that an aircraft that was designed with pencil, paper and measuring rule is still such an integral plane today," Motlagh said.
Still, the KC-135 can show the limitations of its age.
On one of the first nights of the Iraq war, Capt. John Fortenbery was flying one of the old tankers when he got a call over his radio from an F-16 fighter jet desperately seeking to refuel and get back to the fight.
But Fortenbery could not help, because his tanker did not have the proper gear that night to help the F-16 pilot. The new tankers are to be configured so they could refuel any U.S. or allied jet.
"I felt helpless," Fortenbery said. "It's the worst feeling that there is nothing you can do."
March 23, 2008 Contract fight may delay replacement of refueling relics
By Aamer Madhani, Tribune correspondent
WICHITA, Kan. — At the main entrance to McConnell Air Force Base, a stately KC-135 aerial refueling tanker manufactured more than 50 years ago sits on display as a museum piece, a tribute to the aircraft that was built to be a pillar of military strategy in the early years of the Cold War.
But inside the base, the old tanker is hardly a relic. Hundreds of personnel toil every day to keep 39 of the Air Force's 530 Eisenhower-era tankers airborne, a feat of tenacity and ingenuity that baffles even the men and women who have managed to keep the planes airworthy three decades after commercial airlines retired such planes.
"The KC-135 is like that first girlfriend or your first car," said Senior Master Sgt. Buddy Gerhardt, a fuel systems repair technician from Berwyn, Ill., who at 33 is at least a decade younger than the tankers he works on. "You might always have a special feeling for that first girlfriend or that first car, but eventually you have to move on."
The Air Force announced last month it had awarded a $35 billion contract to a partnership of Northrop Grumman and the corporate parent of the European-led planemaker Airbus to begin replacing the tanker fleet, whose aircraft now have an average age of 47.
But the long-languishing plan to revamp the fleet will likely be further delayed as the competing bidder and manufacturer of the original fleet, Chicago-based Boeing, filed a complaint this month with the Government Accountability Office.
Defense analysts say Boeing's appeal could set back the manufacture of the new tankers by years. At the same time, members of Congress from Kansas and Washington state—where Boeing has manufacturing plants—are considering introducing legislation that would undo the deal.
Commanders at McConnell declined to comment on the politicking, saying only that they hope to have new tankers at their disposal as soon as possible. Air Force officials say they are confident they can keep up the maintenance of the aircraft for many more years, yet there is a recognition among senior officials and squadron leaders that time is not on the side of the aging aircraft.
"We're a catastrophe away from having the tankers grounded," said Col. James Vechery, commander of the 22nd Air Refueling Wing at McConnell.
A contract to lease new tankers was originally awarded to Boeing but was annulled in 2004 after an ethics scandal led to jail time for two Boeing officials. One of the jailed officials had worked as a procurement officer for the Air Force and was specifically involved with the annulled deal before joining Boeing.
But since Boeing formally lost out on the re-bid process three weeks ago, numerous members of Congress have bemoaned the Air Force's decision to award one of the most lucrative military contracts ever to a partnership that includes a European company at a time when the U.S. economy seems headed toward a recession.
Plugging away
While the aerospace companies and Congress maneuver in Washington, at McConnell and other Air Force bases, the personnel charged with maintaining the aging aircraft continue to plug away at keeping the tankers running.
By all accounts, the current tanker fleet, manufactured by Boeing, has been as reliable as any aircraft the Air Force has ever flown. Air Force officials note that only 12 to 18 of the new tankers, known as the KC-45, are expected to be manufactured each year as part of the contract that calls for 179 new tankers. So even in the best-case scenario, some of the KC-135 tankers would remain flying for 30 more years.
Senior officers said the tankers have been trustworthy in large part because of an aggressive maintenance and inspection regime. For every hour a tanker is in the air, Air Force teams spend 10 hours on maintenance.
"If there is any question about safety, we don't fly the tanker," said Col. Raymond LaMarche Jr., commander of the 22nd Operations Group.
But the fleet is more frequently showing signs of age.
Tech. Sgt. Henry Burns, whose unit is charged with inspecting the fleet, said corrosion is increasingly a problem with the KC-135s. On one tanker, he said, the corrosion was so severe that rows of rivet heads simply "popped" off the plane's exterior.
Master Sgt. Gari Anderson, one of the fuel systems specialists known as "Tank Rats," said some of the decades-old fuel bladders have as many as 15 patches covering punctures accumulated over the years.
1982 crash killed 27
Less frequently, the aircraft have experienced more serious damage.
One of the worst accidents involving the KC-135 occurred in March 1982, when 27 Air Force personnel were killed after a tanker fell apart as it made its descent into O'Hare International Airport. Investigators at the time said an explosion in the fuel tank caused the crash.
In March 2006, a tanker headed to Europe en route to the Middle East to support operations in Iraq had to be diverted after a small panel in the nose wheel well collapsed during flight, causing rapid decompression in the tanker's cabin. In a matter of seconds, the 29 passengers and crew experienced a cabin altitude change from 8,000 to 27,000 feet.
Fortunately, the crew had all the passengers, who were Air Force personnel, don oxygen equipment immediately, said Capt. Matthew Manns, the assistant operations officer for the aircraft maintenance squadron at McConnell. The tanker, which was built in 1962, was repaired and remains part of the fleet.
Manns said the near-catastrophe was the result of metal failure, a problem that comes with the age of the aircraft.
"We're aggressive with our nose-to-tail inspections, but this is something that couldn't have been seen," Manns said.
For the pilots, the tanker mission is one of the most satisfying jobs in the service, said 1st Lt. Nick Motlagh. The plane, which many airmen appreciatively refer to as the U.S. military's gas station in the sky, is in many ways a throwback that tests the air crews' piloting skills, and figuring out how to land and take off in an aircraft carrying 200,000 pounds of fuel can be a challenge on some of the military's shorter runways.
The refueling mission is an essential one that has been critical to some of the highest-profile episodes of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Tankers from the 22nd Air Wing have supported missions that have led to more than 841 enemy fighters killed in action, have aided two hostage rescues and have assisted in evacuating dozens of wounded troops.
"It's pretty remarkable that an aircraft that was designed with pencil, paper and measuring rule is still such an integral plane today," Motlagh said.
Still, the KC-135 can show the limitations of its age.
On one of the first nights of the Iraq war, Capt. John Fortenbery was flying one of the old tankers when he got a call over his radio from an F-16 fighter jet desperately seeking to refuel and get back to the fight.
But Fortenbery could not help, because his tanker did not have the proper gear that night to help the F-16 pilot. The new tankers are to be configured so they could refuel any U.S. or allied jet.
"I felt helpless," Fortenbery said. "It's the worst feeling that there is nothing you can do."